The turtles are always a hot property, but 2013 is looking to be a big year for the franchise. What with the big storylines in the comic, multiple toy lines and a cartoon show that Nickelodeon had to bet the farm on and quickly became one of their top shows. That means that there is plenty of interest at Comic Bastards to review the comic and this issue in particular… why? Because Kevin Eastman returned to art duties that’s why! Let’s get to it.

Samantha - Buy

There are some kick ass covers for this issue of TMNT. The art by Kevin Eastman was fantastic. I don’t ever mind going to the comic store with my extra unused laundry money and counting out the quarters to buy this comic. I think I have even re-worn my clothes picking out some shirts saying “oh this isn’t that dirty” in order to purchase it. Shameless and yes I am pretty broke. Although the big reveal doesn’t happen until the last page of this issue, it was still a worthy issue to pick up. And believe me the reveal involving Shredder and Dr. Miller will not disappoint. The whole issue revolves around the Turtles running into an ICP satyr ninja (he really isn’t a goat but appears to have goat legs). The ninja challenges the Turtles to a full on battle across all of New York. Even though the Turtles get the crap beaten out of them there were lots of sweet ass fight scenes. I think it is difficult to make action feel real with pictures, unless it is a flip book, which just inspired me to make a flip book. Sorry, it is the little stuff I get all giddy over.

They battle it out with making verbal jabs at each other as well. While fighting the ninja is trying to disrupt the Turtles by challenging them in their faith. We learn about how the Turtles react under pressure. For some reason when reading this comic you start to enjoy the ninja’s company but can’t put a shell on why. Well this ICP has a trick up his sleeve. It is hard not to tell you what happens but it made me go “awwww”. Probably not the response Kevin Eastman was looking for but it was sentimental for me. Ya know I can’t just end this review so heart felt so…suck it bitches if you don’t read this comic. Ok now I feel better.

Score: 5/5

Dustin – Buy

I’m giving this a soft “buy” mostly because it’s cool to see Eastman’s art colored with modern technology and I was left with an overall feeling of, “this is how the Turtles should look.” Sure I’ve seen his art recolored, but it’s different when it’s a brand new story. The story itself is all filler and really it’s pretty predictable. Any average Turtle fan or avid reader of the series will be able to figure it out, but the journey to get to the ending is worth it.

This issue is kind of bittersweet. On one hand it reminded me of the Turtles of my youth, but with the same hand reminded me that those Turtles are gone and continue to change and be reimagined. It makes me long for the days that Eastman and Laird had sole ownership over the characters or at the very least sold them to someone other than a faceless organization. It was a good stroll down memory lane, but other than the last few pages, it really didn’t do anything to move the plot forward on the overall series.